Patent application title: Defogging Device

Abstract:

A mirror defogging device comprises a housing and a heating element and
fan supported within the housing. The fan directs a flow of air across
the heating element and out of the housing through a nozzle. Electrical
prongs arranged to be received in an electrical wall socket are arranged
to support the housing on a wall locating the socket therein. The nozzle
is adjustable both in angular orientation in relation to the housing and
in distance relative to the housing to direct the flow of heated air onto
a surface of a mirror for defogging the mirror.

Claims:

1. A defogging device for use with an electrical wall socket in a
supporting surface for defogging a mirror, the device comprising:a
housing;a heating element supported within the housing;a fan supported
within the housing;the fan being arranged to direct a flow of air across
the heating element;electrical prongs arranged to be received in the
electrical wall socket so as to provide electrical power to the heating
element and to the fan;a nozzle supported on the housing;the nozzle being
arranged to redirect the flow of air across the heating element to exit
the housing therethrough in a flow direction of the nozzle;the housing
being arranged to be substantially supported on the supporting surface by
engagement of the electrical prongs with the electrical wall socket.

2. The device according to claim 1 wherein the electrical prongs are
supported directly on the housing in fixed relation to the housing, the
housing being arranged to be wholly supported on the supporting surface
by the electrical prongs when the electrical prongs are received in the
electrical wall socket.

3. The device according to claim 1 wherein there is provided adhesive on
the housing arranged to additionally support the housing on the
supporting surface.

4. The device according to claim 1 wherein the nozzle is adjustable in
angular orientation relative to the housing to adjust angular orientation
of the flow direction relative to the housing.

5. The device according to claim 1 wherein the nozzle is adjustable in
distance relative to the housing along the flow direction.

6. The device according to claim 1 wherein the nozzle is adjustably
coupled to the housing by a flexible sleeve arranged to direct the flow
of air therethrough as the nozzle is displaced relative to the housing.

7. The device according to claim 6 wherein the sleeve is arranged to be
self-supporting so as to be arranged to support the nozzle relative to
the housing at a selected relative orientation between the nozzle and the
housing.

8. The device according to claim 1 wherein the housing is generally
tubular about an upright axis and includes an outlet opening at a top end
in communication with the nozzle and at least one air inlet port opposite
the outlet opening in relation to the fan, said at least one air inlet
port being located generally circumferentially about the upright axis.

9. The device according to claim 1 wherein the sleeve comprises a
plurality of annular sections connected in series with one another, each
section being foldable relative to adjacent sections to vary relative
angular orientation therebetween.

10. The device according to claim 9 wherein the nozzle is pivotal relative
to the housing through a range of at least 90 degrees by folding the
annular sections relative to one another.

11. The device according to claim 10 wherein the nozzle is pivotal
relative to the housing from a first position in which the flow direction
of the nozzle is generally parallel to an axis of rotation of the fan and
a second position in which the flow direction of the nozzle is generally
perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the fan.

12. The device according to claim 1 wherein a mouth opening of the nozzle
is wider than a diameter of the outlet opening in a first direction and
the mouth of the nozzle is narrower than the diameter of the outlet
opening in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.

13. The device according to claim 1 wherein the housing includes a rear
face from which the electrical prongs project perpendicularly thereto and
the nozzle has a mouth opening which is elongate so as to be longer in a
lateral direction oriented parallel to the rear face of the housing.

14. The device according to claim 13 wherein the nozzle diverges in the
lateral direction towards the mouth opening.

15. The device according to claim 1 wherein there is provided a ball joint
coupling the nozzle for pivotal movement relative to the housing about a
laterally extending axis lying parallel to a plane of a rear side of the
housing from which the electrical prongs project perpendicularly, the
ball joint being arranged to communicate a flow of air therethrough from
the fan to the nozzle.

16. The device according to claim 15 wherein the housing extends along an
upright axis between a bottom end and an open top end in communication
with the nozzle, the nozzle being pivotal about a nozzle axis lying
generally perpendicular to the upright axis.

17. A defogging device for defogging a mirror, the device comprising:a
housing arranged to be supported on an upright supporting surface;a
heating element supported within the housing;a fan supported within the
housing;the fan being arranged to direct a flow of air across the heating
element;electrical prongs arranged to be received in an electrical wall
socket so as to provide electrical power to the fan and the heating
element;a nozzle supported on the housing;the nozzle being arranged to
redirect the flow of air across the heating element to exit the housing
therethrough in a flow direction of the nozzle;the nozzle being
adjustable in orientation in relation to the housing to adjust
orientation of the flow direction.

18. The device according to claim 17 wherein the nozzle is adjustable in
relation to the housing along the flow direction.

19. A defogging device for defogging a mirror, the device comprising:a
housing arranged to be supported on an upright supporting surface;a
heating element supported within the housing;a fan supported within the
housing;the fan being arranged to direct a flow of air across the heating
element;electrical prongs arranged to be received in an electrical wall
socket so as to provide electrical power to the fan and the heating
element;a nozzle supported on the housing;the nozzle being arranged to
redirect the flow of air across the heating element to exit the housing
therethrough in a flow direction of the nozzle;the nozzle being
adjustable in relation to the housing along the flow direction.

Description:

[0002]The present invention relates to a defogging device for directing a
flow of heated air at a target object, for example a mirror, for removing
fog from the target object.

BACKGROUND

[0003]Bathroom mirrors and other glass like surfaces which are exposed to
steam from showers and the like for example commonly collect condensation
or fog thereon. Various prior attempts have been made to defog mirrors as
described in the following prior art documents: U.S. Pat. No. 4,882,467
belonging to Dimick, U.S. Pat. No. 5,467,423 belonging to Jakubowski,
U.S. Pat. No. 5,302,809 belonging to Ghiassy, U.S. Pat. No. 4,037,079
belonging to Armbruster, U.S. Pat. No. 6,653,606 belonging to Son et al.,
and U.S. Pat. No. 5,731,569 belonging to Crescenzo.

[0004]Some attempts include providing heating elements in direct proximity
to the mirror to heat the mirror and thus prevent the formation of
condensation or fog thereon, however such systems typically involve a
complex installation in order to be effective, and may pose certain
electrical or fire hazards to users.

[0005]Other attempts to defog the mirrors include devices which
incorporate some form of heating element and a fan to direct air heated
by the element across the surface of the mirror. Known designs however
typically require a permanent installation on a proximate supporting
surface so as to cause damage to the surface. Known designs are also
typically large and cumbersome and do not fit adjacent typical bathroom
mirrors. Known designs are also typically limited to a single dedicated
use of directing air at the mirror.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0006]According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a
defogging device for use with an electrical wall socket in a supporting
surface for defogging a mirror, the device comprising:

[0007]a housing;

[0008]a heating element supported within the housing;

[0009]a fan supported within the housing;

[0010]the fan being arranged to direct a flow of air across the heating
element;

[0011]electrical prongs arranged to be received in the electrical wall
socket so as to provide electrical power to the heating element and to
the fan;

[0012]a nozzle supported on the housing;

[0013]the nozzle being arranged to redirect the flow of air across the
heating element to exit the housing therethrough in a flow direction of
the nozzle;

[0014]the housing being arranged to be substantially supported on the
supporting surface by engagement of the electrical prongs with the
electrical wall socket.

[0015]Use of electrical prongs which are fixed on the housing enable the
device to be easily installed simply by insertion into a conventional
electrical wall socket without damaging any supporting surfaces in
proximity to the bathroom mirror.

[0016]The electrical prongs are preferably supported directly on the
housing in fixed relation to the housing, the housing being arranged to
be wholly supported on the supporting surface by the electrical prongs
when the electrical prongs are received in the electrical wall socket.

[0017]There may be provided adhesive on the housing arranged to
additionally support the housing on the supporting surface.

[0018]The nozzle is preferably adjustable in angular orientation relative
to the housing to adjust angular orientation of the flow direction
relative to the housing.

[0019]The nozzle may also be adjustable in distance relative to the
housing along the flow direction.

[0020]The nozzle is preferably adjustably coupled to the housing by a
flexible sleeve arranged to direct the flow of air therethrough as the
nozzle is displaced relative to the housing.

[0021]The sleeve is preferably arranged to be self-supporting so as to be
arranged to support the nozzle relative to the housing at a selected
relative orientation between the nozzle and the housing.

[0022]When the housing is generally tubular about an upright axis and
includes an outlet opening at a top end in communication with the nozzle,
the air inlet ports opposite the outlet opening in relation to the fan
are preferably located generally circumferentially about the upright
axis.

[0023]The sleeve may comprise a plurality of annular sections connected in
series with one another in which each section is foldable relative to
adjacent sections to vary relative angular orientation therebetween.

[0024]The nozzle is preferably pivotal relative to the housing through a
range of at least 90 degrees by folding the annular sections relative to
one another.

[0025]The nozzle may be pivotal relative to the housing from a first
position in which the flow direction of the nozzle is generally parallel
to an axis of rotation of the fan and a second position in which the flow
direction of the nozzle is generally perpendicular to the axis of
rotation of the fan.

[0026]A mouth opening of the nozzle may be wider than a diameter of the
outlet opening in a first direction and narrower than the diameter of the
outlet opening in a second direction perpendicular to the first
direction.

[0027]When the housing includes a rear face from which the electrical
prongs project perpendicularly, the nozzle preferably has a mouth opening
which is elongate so as to be longer in a lateral direction oriented
parallel to the rear face of the housing.

[0029]There may be provided a ball joint coupling the nozzle for pivotal
movement relative to the housing about a laterally extending axis lying
parallel to a plane of a rear side of the housing from which the
electrical prongs project perpendicularly in which the ball joint is
arranged to communicate a flow of air therethrough from the fan to the
nozzle.

[0030]When the housing extends along an upright axis between a bottom end
and an open top end in communication with the nozzle, the nozzle is
preferably pivotal about a nozzle axis lying generally perpendicular to
the upright axis. A sleeve of fixed orientation inclined upwardly and
forward in relation to the open top end of the housing, outwardly and
away from the rear face of the housing, preferably supports the ball
joint at an outer end thereof so that the nozzle supported by the ball
joint is spaced upwardly and forwardly in relation to the housing.

[0031]According to a second aspect of the present invention there is
provided a defogging device for defogging a mirror, the device
comprising:

[0032]a housing arranged to be supported on an upright supporting surface;

[0033]a heating element supported within the housing;

[0034]a fan supported within the housing;

[0035]the fan being arranged to direct a flow of air across the heating
element;

[0036]electrical prongs arranged to be received in an electrical wall
socket so as to provide electrical power to the fan and the heating
element;

[0037]a nozzle supported on the housing; the nozzle being arranged to
redirect the flow of air across the heating element to exit the housing
therethrough in a flow direction of the nozzle;

[0038]the nozzle being adjustable in orientation in relation to the
housing to adjust orientation of the flow direction.

[0039]According to a third aspect of the present invention there is
provided a defogging device for defogging a mirror, the device
comprising:

[0040]a housing arranged to be supported on an upright supporting surface;

[0041]a heating element supported within the housing;

[0042]a fan supported within the housing;

[0043]the fan being arranged to direct a flow of air across the heating
element;

[0044]electrical prongs arranged to be received in an electrical wall
socket so as to provide electrical power to the fan and the heating
element;

[0045]a nozzle supported on the housing;

[0046]the nozzle being arranged to redirect the flow of air across the
heating element to exit the housing therethrough in a flow direction of
the nozzle;

[0047]the nozzle being adjustable in relation to the housing along the
flow direction.

[0048]By providing a nozzle which is either adjustable in orientation or
which can be extended or retracted in relation to the housing, the flow
of heated air can be used for other purposes in addition to defogging
mirrors.

[0049]One embodiment of the invention will now be described in conjunction
with the accompanying drawings in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0050]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the defogging device.

[0051]FIG. 2 is a partly sectional front elevational view of the device.

[0052]FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the device with the nozzle in a
retracted position.

[0053]FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the nozzle in an extended and
pivoted orientation in relation to FIG. 3.

[0054]FIG. 5 is a side elevational view of the nozzle pivoted into a
different orientation in relation to FIGS. 3 and 4.

[0055]FIG. 6 is a sectional front elevational view of the device.

[0056]FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the defogging
device.

[0057]FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are respective side elevational and front
elevational views of the defogging device according to FIG. 7 with the
sleeve in a collapsed position.

[0058]FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 are respective side elevational and front
elevational views of the nozzle extended and angularly offset in relation
to the housing according to the second embodiment of the device.

[0059]FIG. 12 is a side elevational view of a third embodiment of the
defogging device.

[0060]FIG. 13 is a front elevational view of the device of FIG. 12.

[0061]FIG. 14 is a sectional view of the nozzle according to the third
embodiment.

[0062]In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding
parts in the different figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0063]Referring to the accompanying figures there is illustrated a
defogging device generally indicated by reference numeral 10. The device
10 is particularly suited for removing or reducing fog and condensation
on target objects and in the surrounding target area of objects including
for example bathroom mirrors or other related glass like surfaces.

[0064]Though various embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying
figures, the common features will first be described herein.

[0065]The device 10 includes a housing 12 comprising a hollow plastic
enclosure having an outlet opening 14 which spans the top end thereof.
The housing 12 extends downwardly and tapers inwardly from the outlet
opening 14 at the top end to a narrower bottom end 16. A plurality of
inlet ports 18 are provided in the walls of the housing 12 adjacent the
bottom end at spaced positions in a circumferential direction about an
upright axis of the housing 12 between top and bottom ends thereof. The
inlet ports 18 are provided in a front side of the housing 12 opposite a
flat rear side 20 which is suitably arranged for abutment flat against an
upright supporting surface when mounted at a conventional electrical wall
socket 22.

[0066]The housing 12 includes a set of electrical prongs 24 projecting
from the rear side 20 in fixed relative orientation for mating connection
with the wall socket 22. The prongs 24 are suitably spaced and
dimensioned to fit within the wall socket 22 with sufficiently close
tolerance so that the friction between the electrical prongs 24 and the
electrical wall socket 22 is sufficient to hold the housing 12 in an
upright orientation against the supporting wall within which the wall
socket 22 is located.

[0067]An electric motor 26 is mounted within the interior of the housing
for driving rotation of a fan 28 also supported within the housing. The
motor 26 is mounted adjacent the bottom end of the housing and is
connected to the electrical prongs 24 in a suitable manner for delivering
electrical power to the motor. The fan 28 is positioned directly above
the motor 26 and is oriented to direct a flow of air in through the inlet
ports 18 adjacent the bottom end of the housing below the fan, upwardly
through the outlet opening 14 at the top end of the housing. Accordingly,
the inlet ports and the open top end of the housing communicate with
opposing sides of the fan.

[0068]The heating element 30 is mounted between the fan 28 and the outlet
opening 14 for heating the flow of air generated by the fan 28 to blow
across the heating element as it moves towards the outlet opening. The
heating element 30 is an electrical resistance heating element which also
receives electrical power by connecting to the electrical prongs 24 in a
suitable manner.

[0069]A nozzle 32 is adjustably supported on the outlet opening 14 of the
housing for redirecting the flow generated by the fan 28 within the
housing to exit the housing in the flow direction of the nozzle 32. The
nozzle is supported on the housing by an adjustable sleeve 34.

[0070]A power switch 42 is provided adjacent the bottom end of the housing
at the exterior side to manually connect and disconnect the fan motor 26
and heating element 30 to and from the electrical prongs 24 as desired by
the user to turn on and turn off the device.

[0071]Turning now more particularly to the first embodiment of FIGS. 1
through 6, the sleeve 34 in this instance generally comprises a first
flexible joint 36 coupled to the outlet opening 14 on the housing, a
second flexible joint 38 connected directly to the nozzle 32, and a rigid
collar 40 which is connected between the first and second flexible joints
for communicating therebetween. The first and second flexible joints and
the rigid collar 40 connected therebetween form sequential portions of
the sleeve 34 communicating the flow of air from the outlet opening
through the nozzle 32.

[0072]Each of the flexible joints 36 and 38 comprises flexible material
arranged in an accordion like structure in which a plurality of annular
sections can be folded relative to one another. The material at the folds
of the flexible joints have sufficient stiffness to retain their shape
once the flexible joints have been reoriented manually by a user into a
different position. The annular sections of the flexible joints 36 and 38
can be collapsed and extended relative to one another in an axial flow
direction of the respective nozzle or outlet opening of the housing
connected thereto. The annular sections can also be reoriented relative
to one another so that the flexible joints form curved or bending
sections of the sleeve 34 to reorient the flow direction of the nozzle
relative to the housing.

[0073]Turning now to FIG. 7 through 11 a second embodiment of the device
10 is illustrated in which the nozzle 32 is again coupled to the outlet
opening 14 of the housing by a sleeve 34, however the sleeve 34 in this
instance comprises a continuous accordion like sleeve of circular cross
section between the nozzle 32 and the outlet openings. The sleeve 34,
similar to the joints of the previous embodiment, comprises a plurality
of annular sections 62 which are foldable relative to one another to
define eight separate sections of the sleeve in series with one another.
Each annular section is foldable relative to adjacent sections to vary
the relative angular orientation therebetween in any direction.
Accordingly by folding some sections relative to one another in a first
direction and folding other sections relative to one another in an
opposing direction, the sleeve can be configured to follow a generally
S-shaped pattern. Each section is pivotal relative to adjacent sections
through a range of approximately 15° so that when all eight
sections are pivoted in the same direction or are folded to be angularly
offset relative to one another in the same direction, the nozzle is
effectively pivoted relative to the housing through a range of
120°.

[0074]In the second embodiment, the housing is generally elongate and
tubular about a longitudinal axis extending between top and bottom ends
of the housing. The tubular shape of the housing and the sleeve 34 are
similar in diameter to one another. In this instance movement of the
nozzle relative to the housing is such that the nozzle can be displaced
from a first position in which the flow direction of the nozzle is
co-axial and parallel with the longitudinal axis of the housing, to an
intermediate position in which the flow direction of the nozzle extends
generally radially outwardly from the axis of the housing so that the
flow direction is perpendicular to the housing, and then to a final
position in which the flow direction of the nozzle has been pivoted
through 1200 relative to the upright axis of the housing so that that
nozzle is directed downwardly and outwardly in relation to the open top
end of the housing.

[0075]Each of the annular sections of the sleeve can also be folded upon
itself to be collapsed such that the sleeve 34 is adjustable in length
along the direction of flow through the nozzle and along the longitudinal
axis of the housing. Adjusting the length of the sleeve 34 effectively
permits the nozzle to be adjusted in distance or spacing relative to the
housing in the flow direction of the nozzle with or without angular
deflection of the nozzle relative to the longitudinal axis of the
housing.

[0076]When the housing is tubular about an upright axis, the inlet ports
18 are located in a circumferential pattern about the upright axis spaced
apart from one another. The fan is rotatable about the longitudinal axis
of the housing such that the ports 18 are circumferentially about a
periphery of the fan sweep area.

[0077]Also in the second embodiment, the nozzle includes a mouth opening
60 which is elongate in a first direction in a plane of the opening so
that the nozzle is wider than a diameter of the outlet opening of the
housing and the sleeve in the first direction, while being narrower than
the diameter of the outlet opening and the sleeve in a second direction
perpendicular to the first direction in the plane of the opening. The
nozzle 32 is shaped so as to diverge in the elongate first direction
towards the mouth opening 60. When the rear face of the housing, from
which the electrical prongs project perpendicularly therefrom, is
vertically oriented and parallel to the upright axis of the housing, the
first direction in which the nozzle is elongate is oriented to extend
laterally and parallel to a plane of the rear face of the housing.
Accordingly when the device is inserted into a wall socket below a
mirror, the nozzle extends upwardly towards the mirror in a widening fan
pattern, elongate in a lateral direction across the mirror, to spread the
heated air from the device across the face of the mirror.

[0078]When mounting on an upright supporting surface, an adhesive strip 44
may also be provided at the flat rear side of the housing adjacent the
top end for adhering the housing to an upright supporting wall within
which an electrical wall socket is located to provide some additional
support to maintain the housing supported on the upright wall in addition
to frictional engagement of the electrical prongs within the wall socket
22.

[0079]Turning now more particularly to the embodiments of FIGS. 12 through
14, the nozzle 32 in this instance is similarly configured to the nozzle
of the previous embodiment so as to diverge towards the mouth opening 60
which is elongate in a lateral direction. The nozzle 32 in the embodiment
of FIGS. 12 through 14 is also arranged to pivot about a nozzle axis
which is generally horizontal and extends in a lateral direction parallel
to the plane of the rear face from which the electrical prongs 24 project
perpendicularly. The nozzle is pivotal through a range in the order of
120° from a generally upward or vertical orientation to a downward
and forward position a shown in broken line in FIG. 12.

[0080]Again similarly to the previous embodiment, the nozzle is supported
on the housing by a sleeve 34, however the differs in that the sleeve 34
is fixed in orientation relative to the housing and the nozzle 32 is
supported at an outer free end of the sleeve by a ball joint 66. The ball
joint 66 supports the nozzle for pivotal movement about the nozzle axis
which extends horizontally and perpendicularly to the upright
longitudinal axis of the housing about which the fan rotates. The nozzle
is thus pivotal relative to the sleeve 34 which is fixed in orientation
relative to the housing 12. The ball joint is arranged to have a passage
therethrough which is near in diameter to the diameter of the sleeve and
housing to permit a flow of air to be communicated therethrough from the
fan to the nozzle 32.

[0081]The sleeve 34 according to the third embodiment extends upwardly and
forwardly from the open top end of the housing at an incline outward and
away from the rear face of the housing from which the electrical prongs
project to support the ball joint and the nozzle thereon at the outer top
end of the sleeve. A longitudinal axis of the sleeve 34 is preferably
offset from a vertical axis of the housing by approximately 22.5°.

[0082]The ball joint 66 is formed by a socket integrally formed at the
outer end of the sleeve 34 which receives a ball rotatably therein to
which the nozzle is fixed for rotation therewith relative to the socket
on the sleeve.

[0083]In use, the device is easily mounted in place by inserting the
prongs into a wall socket 22 in proximity to a bathroom mirror. The
length of the sleeve 34 and its orientation can be adjusted as desired by
the user to adjust the location and orientation of the nozzle 32 as
desired. Even when the mirror 46 to be defogged is located on a cabinet
48 which projects outwardly from the wall locating the socket 22 therein
as shown in FIG. 4, the two flexible joints 36 and 38 in the sleeve 34
supporting the nozzle on the housing enable the nozzle to be offset from
the wall sufficiently to overcome the thickness of the cabinet 48 so that
the nozzle may still be directed at the surface of the mirror 46 to
direct the heated flow of air from the fan 28 through the nozzle and
across the surface of the target object. The two flexible joints 36 and
38 in the sleeve 34 also allow the nozzle to be redirected outwardly,
substantially perpendicularly to a plane of the rear side as shown in
FIG. 5. In this position, the device is well suited for drying the hands
or face of a user.

[0084]Since various modifications can be made in my invention as herein
above described, and many apparently widely different embodiments of same
made within the spirit and scope of the claims without department from
such spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the
accompanying specification shall be interpreted as illustrative only and
not in a limiting sense.